US Poker ban - California Dreaming?

Found this earlier today -

Could California Make Online Poker Legal
If a current petition drive gains momentum then by next year California might be the first US state to legalized Internet poker.
The existing gambling community took notice on Tuesday when a proposed initiative to create a state-owned Internet poker made headlines. The plan drew support from all quarters including Indian casino tribes and independent experts.

I. Nelson Rose, a professor and attorney at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa has this to say, "It's silly for the state not to get into the business. Billions of dollars are being spent on the game here, and the state isn't getting one penny."

Analysts claim that California is the world’s online poker capital and that the government is missing out on millions by not legalizing, regulating and taxing it.

Rose is a nationally known gambling expert who believes that, "ultimately California is going to legalize Internet poker." However, he is unsure if the new proposal will be the right vehicle for the change.

As part of the new proposal Indian casinos and other gambling institutions would be allowed to set up revenue sharing deals that they hope will act as an incentive for wealthy tribes to get involved and to gather voter the voter signatures that are needed to put the measure on the February ballot.
The proposal must garner at least 430,000 signatures by the end of the year if it is to qualify for inclusion on the ballot.

Garry South, a consultant to the California Tribal Business Alliance has declared that, "We will take a look at the initiative and discuss it."

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s aides who negotiate gambling compacts with tribes, declined comment for the story.

The proposal would require the establishment of a state owned poker site within 150 days of the initiative being adopted. It would have to create game rules and restrict access to players under 21 years old.

The initiative further states that, "the state may enter into revenue and player base sharing agreements with other states, localities and California federally recognized Indian tribes."
However, an attorney representing several casino-operating tribes that were not part of the tribal alliance Howard Dickstein was sceptical. He states that the kind of initiative outlined by the proposal was very ambitious and complex. He along with other experts foresee many obstacles among gambling insiders before such a project can get the go-ahead – the least of which is the vague stance of the federal government concerning state-run Internet poker sites.

I'm surprised they didn't say who started that petition. Believe it or not, it was Tuff-Fish!!

Stick's Poker Blog: Tuff Fish, The Lobbyist

This is interesting on so many levels, not the least of which is the idea of a "state owned poker site". As a resident of CA, I'd definitely consider signing a petition for this proposal.

If something like this did pass it could set up a nasty clash with the Feds, particularly the Department of Justice. Over the last decade or so the DOJ has been given pretty much free reign by Congress and the White House to step on State's rights. So this whole matter could be terrific, not just for poker, but also for the reaffirmation of individual state powers.

Anyway, as a poker fanatic, I'd love to see CA step forward with the legalization of Internet poker.

Even if at the state level all is agreed upon the feds will not allow it.
would cause all sorts of loops holes in current ban, and other states would follow suit make it a big mess. All the feds have to do is say that if CA allows it federal funds would be withheld. So they have the leverage to block it.

All though I would like to see this happen.!!

In my opinion, it's only a matter of time until online poker is unbanned - and this is hopefully a big step towards that!

I am not following, Is poker illegeal in california? or is it legal but not taxed by the government?

I am confused

The answer is . . .it depends. The key factors to whether a game is illegal or not seem to be whether it is percentage based (a rake or fee is collected), whether it is a "home game", whether the facility where the game is taking place is licensed, and whether the game adopts a "no flop, no drop" policy.

Not being a lawyer or politician, I find it all too confusing myself.

Here's a link to the text on CA gambling laws (good luck sorting through it ):

California Gaming Law